If the owner or operator of any such well shall neglect or
refuse to drill, case and equip, or plug and abandon, or shut in
and conserve from waste the gas produced therefrom, as required
to be done and performed by the preceding sections of this
article, for a period of twenty days after a written notice so
to do, which notice may be served personally upon the owner or
operator, or may be posted in a conspicuous place at or near the
well, it shall be lawful for the owner or operator of any
adjacent or neighboring lands or the director to enter upon the
premises where such well is situated and properly case and equip
such well, or, in case the well is to be abandoned, to properly
plug and abandon it, or in case the well is wasting gas, to
properly shut it in and make such needed repairs to the well to
prevent the waste of gas, in the manner required to be done by
the preceding sections of this article; and the reasonable cost
and expense incurred by an owner or operator or the director in
so doing shall be paid by the owner or operator of such well and
may be recovered as debts of like amount are by law recoverable.

The director may utilize funds and procedures established
pursuant to section twenty-nine of this article for the purposes
set out in the section. Amounts recovered by the director
pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the oil and gas
reclamation fund established pursuant to section twenty-nine of
this article.

Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2014 1st Special Session
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